Xmas in July - Sunday 31st July 05

Well it came around quickly & the annual Xmas in July ride & lunch at the Pig & Whistle Hotel in East Trentham proved popular again with the Geelong crew with 14 bikes making the trip. It was a beautiful morning as we departed from the Wharfshed Cafe in Geelong with 16c predicted - and no snow!

It was a quick burn through the Brisbane Ranges with Murray at the helm. A little bit of caution (but not much) on those damp corners & a quick look around for Skippy! Ollie was certainly giving the Speed Triple a good work out on some of those quick corners.

A welcome stop in Ballan at our favorite bakery for coffee & waiting for us was Andy on the Speed Triple. Then it was on to our destination via the winding roads through Blackwood & on to Trentham.

Mal, Cheryl and Dave were waiting for us at the Pig & Whistle with the TT, S3 and Daytona lined up ready for action & their riders looking thirsty - Dave was fresh from the Dogs big win against the Lions the night before!

A good meal was enjoyed by all and some entertainment from the resident musician - it was lucky for him we weren't staying the night - might have been a bit of karaoke after a few of those Mercury ciders!

We all fired up and headed south back through Blackwood. It was good to see Daytona Dave back in action on the new bike - Dave by name & Foggy by nature! Pete needed a quick debrief at the Ballan Hotel after a serious dose of tank slap on the Speed 4 - reckon he's a stunt rider in disguise.

Mal and Cheryl headed home on the S3 and TT & we carried on back through the Brisbane Ranges & Geelong. No Skippys around this time either - lucky for them and us...

It was a good day in great company. The Xmas in July event itself had a lot less in attendance than a couple of years ago when I was there. It seemed a lot more subdued this year with no raffle prizes or motivational talks from the gurus at Triumph Australia - maybe next time.

Anyway the Geelong crew had a good time as usual.

Triumph Tech Day

Dispite the rain and cold weather 4 of us braved the elements and rode to the Triumph Tech Day held at the Peter Stevens Queensbury St workshop. It was a great morning and Mike Hennessey from Triumph Australia gave an excellent talk and demo on all aspects of maintaining & caring for our pride & joys. It was worthwhile making the trip and we were treated to a sausage sizzle lunch and then bargains on sale at great discount prices - there were a few snapped up too!

Good to catch up with Maurice Allen from the Melbourne RAT and the other guys from Triumph Australia too. Hope to catch them again at Xmas in July in a couple of weeks.

Tech Day/Ride Day/Xmas in July

The Triumph Tech Day is being held on Saturday 02 July 05 at the Peter Stevens Workshop in Queensbury Street, Melbourne. Departure for anyone going from Geelong is from the Corio RoadHouse, Princes Highway at 7.45 am sharp. Craig confirmed that there are available places for the Geelong crew to attend. It's a great opportunity to ask those technical questions, theres merchandise for sale and a sausage sizzle lunch.

The ride on Sunday 10th July was discussed and two options were presented depending on the weather:

• Wet - Ride to Colac via Moriac & Birregurra for lunch
• Dry - Ride to St Andrews (near King Lake) for lunch

Xmas in July is happening on 17th July 05 at the Pig n Whistle Hotel in Trentham. This is a shared event with the Melbourne RATs. Places are available for about 20 from Geelong. Meet at 9.00 am at Wharfshed for a 9.30 start. See Craig for more details.